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Warring gangs control much of the Haitian capital and main port.
CNN –
The United Nations Security Council has given the green light to send an armed multinational force to Haiti as the Caribbean nation struggles with rampant gang violence and political paralysis.
The decision follows repeated calls for military assistance from Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the United States have also urged the international community to support such a mission.
Thirteen members of the Council voted in favor of the resolution, with Russia and China abstaining.
Although the force was approved by the powerful UN Security Council, it would not officially be under UN control. The mission is expected to be led by Kenya, which has committed 1,000 police officers to lead the mission. Several of Haiti’s Caribbean neighbors – Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas and Jamaica – have also offered support to the mission.
The “Multinational Security Assistance Force” will have a 12-month mandate in Haiti. The time of his arrival has not yet been determined and other countries have been invited to take part. The resolution also calls for a global halt to arms sales to Haiti, except for approved security purposes.
An adviser to Haitian Prime Minister Henry, Jean-Junior Joseph, told CNN the government welcomed the vote, adding: “We are waiting with impatience for the mission to combat general insecurity.”
Warring gangs control much of Port-au-Prince – Haiti’s capital and main port – and are cutting off important supply lines to the rest of the country. Gang members have also terrorized metropolitan populations, forcing about 200,000 people to flee their homes amid waves of indiscriminate killings, kidnappings, arson and rape.
The mission is intended to strengthen local security and support the Haitian National Police in pursuing the gangs. Haiti’s security forces already receive some international support but remain undermanned and outgunned.
In his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 22, Prime Minister Henry told his compatriots that it was “urgent” that the Security Council agree to a military mission to restore order. Violence has exacerbated general instability across the country, Henry said, noting that inflation has risen above 50% and 4.9 million Haitians are struggling to eat – a grim new record for the country.
In a statement the same day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on the international community to support the plan and provide assistance, including personnel, and said Washington was ready to provide “robust” financial and logistical assistance.
The Security Council has repeatedly found itself at an impasse in recent years due to increasing geopolitical rivalries. In a statement from U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, she called Monday’s decision on Haiti “historic” and said the mission “speaks to the United Nations’ ability to inspire collective action.”
In a speech to the Security Council after the vote, China’s UN ambassador Zhang Jun said his country had taken “a cautious and responsible approach” in authorizing the use of force – but in the case of Haiti, China’s abstention was a “constructive stance” towards it Resolution.
Russia’s UN envoy Wassily Nebenzia criticized the move in a statement to the council, saying “sending the armed forces of another state to a country, even at its request, is an extreme measure that must be carefully thought out,” pointing out However, it points to “some positive elements”. to the approved resolution.
Both Russia and China expressed support for the resolution’s arms embargo.
Critics of the mission have previously pointed to scandals surrounding U.N. peacekeeping missions in Haiti, including allegations of sexual abuse and the spread of a deadly cholera epidemic that has killed nearly 10,000 people. Some Haitians also question the mandate of Prime Minister Henry, who took over the country’s leadership after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021.
Henry has said Haiti’s long-overdue elections cannot be held until the country reaches a basic level of security.
The United Nations special representative in Haiti, Maria Isabel Salvador, said her office would support the mission “within its mandate,” but stressed that “unlike recent international missions in Haiti, the MSS mission is not a UN mission .” ”